Snow Empress and Ice Empress!

"You... what are you trying to do? Don't come any closer!"

Xiao Bai's voice trembled, but she still stood in front of Zhang Qingxuan, who sat quietly absorbing his Soul Ring, without retreating a single step.

It's over, it's over! This time, we're really done for!

Why did the two people you absolutely must not provoke in the Far North have to show up at the same time?!

Young Master, Young Master, the Zixiao Lightning-Attracting Talisman you gave me... wasn't that a little too subtle?

Ice Empress watched the little fox who was clearly terrified yet still forcing herself to put on a brave front. The corner of her lips curved into an amused smile.

Rather than minding it, she found Xiao Bai's desperate urge to protect her master rather entertaining.

"Little fox, there's no need to be so afraid. We merely sensed an anomaly in the heavens and came to take a look."

"We mean no harm to you or the one behind you." Her voice was clear and crystalline, and her tone softened somewhat.

Even so, she did not stop walking. She continued approaching at an unhurried pace, as though Xiao Bai's meager threat was not worth mentioning.

"Stop! Don't come any closer! Otherwise... otherwise, I really won't be polite!" Xiao Bai was like a cat whose tail had been stepped on, her fur seeming ready to stand on end.

She abruptly pulled out a talisman from her robes, violet light flickering across it as runes flowed over its surface. She clenched it tightly between her fingers and aimed it at Ice Empress.

Tiny arcs of electricity crackled across the talisman paper, making her pale little face flicker between light and shadow.

At that tense, hair-trigger moment, another slender, fair hand gently rested on Ice Empress's shoulder.

It was Snow Empress.

She said nothing. She merely shook her head at Ice Empress, very slowly yet with absolute resolve.

Those ice-blue eyes were not looking at Ice Empress. Instead, they were fixed tightly on the seemingly ordinary talisman in Xiao Bai's hand.

Her spiritual power far surpassed Ice Empress's, and her senses were sharper as well.

Deep within that talisman, she "heard" a muffled, destructive rumble of thunder, as though a furious thundercloud had been compressed and sealed within an inch of space.

What made her heart tighten even more was that the trace of ancient, majestic aura leaking from the talisman seemed faintly related to the dark thundercloud lingering overhead...

She raised her head toward the heavens.

The thick clouds slowly churned, with flashes of lightning occasionally flickering within like the pulse of a slumbering beast.

That was no ordinary lightning. It carried a trace of the will of heaven and earth's judgment...

Lightning Tribulation!

Even someone as powerful as her held three parts reverence and seven parts wariness toward that force representing the might of heaven and earth.

Ice Empress turned her head and met Snow Empress's calm, solemn gaze.

They had accompanied one another for hundreds of thousands of years. A single glance was enough to convey countless messages.

From Snow Empress's eyes, she read rare gravity and an unmistakable warning to stop.

Though reluctant and itching with curiosity about the human who could control lightning, Ice Empress still stopped as instructed. Somewhat annoyed, she even took half a step back, returning to stand beside Snow Empress.

"Fine, fine, I'll listen to you, Sister Snow."

She shrugged, sounding rather helpless, though her gaze continued wandering curiously between the little fox and the human behind her.

Yet even after Ice Empress had retreated, Xiao Bai's taut nerves did not relax in the slightest.

Instead, she became even more vigilant, her eyes locked firmly on the two women as she even softened her breathing.

Snow Empress paid no heed to Xiao Bai's near-instinctive vigilance. Her attention had long since been drawn to the human youth sitting cross-legged behind Xiao Bai, whose aura was quietly undergoing a transformation.

Not long ago, both she and Ice Empress had sensed the sudden gathering of thunderclouds in the sky. What concerned them even more was the pure, majestic aura of Heavenly Tribulation entwined within the clouds.

Their spiritual power quietly spread out, and they "saw" the Titan Snow Demon King fighting a human.

What truly stirred their emotions was that the seemingly young human was somehow guiding and controlling the thunderclouds overhead!

The thunderclouds contained the aura of Heavenly Tribulation, and they were being controlled by a person...

Did that mean that Heavenly Tribulation itself could also be controlled?

Once that thought arose, it could no longer be suppressed.

After an unknown amount of time, the crimson Soul Ring floating in midair began to slowly contract, transforming into a streak of light that entered Zhang Qingxuan's body.

In an instant, Zhang Qingxuan's aura surged. A cold pressure far stronger than before flashed into existence, then vanished.

His tightly shut eyes snapped open. It was as though a snowstorm swept through their depths and a giant ape roared before everything finally settled into tranquil profundity.

The Titan Snow Demon King's two-hundred-thousand-year Soul Ring had granted him two exceptionally powerful Soul Skills:

Frost Battle Armor—reduced physical damage by eighty percent and had a chance to freeze attackers when he was struck.

Titan Giant Strength—strengthened the body, greatly enlarged his physique, and instantly increased his strength, speed, and defense by three hundred percent across the board.

"Hmm?"

The moment Zhang Qingxuan's consciousness returned, he saw his little fox in a tense standoff with two peerlessly beautiful women whose auras were as deep and unfathomable as the sea.

What filled the air was not killing intent, but a subtler tension of scrutiny and curiosity.

"Waaah—!! Young Master! Young Master, you finally woke up!!"

The instant Zhang Qingxuan opened his eyes, Xiao Bai was nearly overwhelmed with joyous tears.

No longer caring to maintain her fierce facade, she shot to Zhang Qingxuan's side like a streak of white lightning.

She tightly clutched his sleeve with both hands. Tears welled in her eyes at once, her voice choked with lingering fear and grievance after surviving a disaster.

"If you hadn't woken up soon, Xiao Bai... Xiao Bai might have been skinned by those two and turned into a scarf!"

"You have no idea, I was so scared my heart nearly jumped out!"

"I heard before that some terrifyingly powerful people love using fox fur like ours to make coats!"

"Waaah... Xiao Bai almost became a coat today. I'm so pitiful..."

Zhang Qingxuan did not know whether to laugh or cry. He gently patted her trembling back and said warmly, "All right, all right, stop acting. If they truly wanted to do anything to you, would you still be standing here safe and sound, complaining to me?"

Xiao Bai raised her head, her eyes wet and filled with admiration.

"They were wary of the Zixiao Lightning-Attracting Talisman Young Master gave me!" Her tone immediately regained its confidence. She even secretly stuck out her tongue at Snow Empress and Ice Empress, looking smug as though her backing had awakened.

My protector is awake now. Let's see if you still dare to mess around!

Zhang Qingxuan shook his head with a soft laugh, then lifted his eyes to face the two women who had stood silently without moving from beginning to end.

Their snow-white hair cascaded like waterfalls, and their icy eyes shone like stars. Merely standing there, they seemed to make the surrounding wind and snow turn gentle.

He had already vaguely guessed their identities. In the core region of the Far North, aside from those two, there was likely no one else who could make the Titan Snow Demon King fade into the background.

"May I ask why you two have sought me out?" His expression was calm, his voice gentle, yet he naturally carried a composed bearing.

At his words, Snow Empress took a light step forward.

The wind and snow seemed to pause faintly at her feet.

She looked at Zhang Qingxuan and asked clearly, one word at a time:

"I would like to know—how much does Your Excellency truly understand about the Lightning Tribulation of heaven and earth?"